ORANGE : State Shuts Down Montessori School

The state’s Department of Social Services has temporarily closed a preschool facility, alleging safety violations.

A complaint issued by the agency said that Montessori of Orange on Orange Olive Road let children play on unsafe playground equipment despite “repeated warnings.” The agency also alleged that supervision was inadequate and that teachers were not fully trained.

Kathleen Glassman, owner and director of the school, said the playground equipment will be replaced before a hearing on the matter, which will be held in about 30 days.

Most of the 40 preschoolers, who range from 2 to 5 years old, were moved Monday to an associated Montessori school in Anaheim Hills, Glassman said.

The agency closed the preschool Friday afternoon after Glassman failed to respond to safety citations, according to the complaint.

“There was continuous noncompliance (with earlier orders) to the point where our department felt it was affecting the health and safety of the kids in care,” said David Hall, a case worker with the agency.

The complaint describes two instances where 2-year-old children suffered head injuries after falls from slides. One child was hurt because the slide ended with a two-foot drop onto a sand covering, the complaint said. Another child landed on her head on a concrete floor from an indoor slide, the complaint said.

Glassman said the first incident was a “freak accident,” and the second was not witnessed and could have happened anywhere.

She was “totally surprised” by the closing, she said, because she had been working with licensing officials to rectify their complaints. The school’s teachers are qualified, but some did not have all of their transcripts in the files, she said.

Another preschool owned by Glassman--Marygrove Montessori on South Glassell Street--remains open, as does a kindergarten through third-grade school.